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From Los Angeles Times

A Fourth of July primer: Born in the U.S.A.?

Independence Day traditions come from all over the globe. Here's a guide to the customs and menus of your favorite summer holiday.

by Julia Gabrick

July 3, 2011

There's nothing quite as American as the Fourth of July, the day our nation's founders declared independence from Britain. But like Americans themselves, Independence Day traditions come from all over the globe. That picnic you're planning, the barbecue, the corn on the cob, the apple pie and watermelon, even the fireworks have roots in other parts of the world. Here's a guide to the customs and menus of your favorite summer holiday.

Corn: a Mexican immigrant

The first corn, a type of grass, was grown by Native Americans more than 7,000 years ago in what is now Mexico. But some early colonists saw divine inspiration in its spread northward. After discovering a cache of Indian corn at a time of great need, Plymouth Colony's first governor, William Bradford, wrote: "And sure it was God's good providence that we found this corne for we know not how else we should have done." The corn habit stuck, and today, and more than half the world's corn is produced in the United States.

Watermelon: Fruit or vegetable?

Let's get one thing straight regarding our favorite summer fruit: It really isn't one. Watermelon is part of the cucumber and squash family, so isn't a true fruit. But that hasn't hurt its popularity. The first documented watermelon harvest was about 5,000 years ago in Egypt, where it is depicted in hieroglyphics. The melon, which is 92% water, was put in the tombs of the pharaohs to nourish them in the afterlife. By the 10th century, watermelon had reached China, which is now the world's leading watermelon grower. According to Southern food historian John Egerton, watermelon seeds were brought to America by African slaves. Today's varieties take from 70 to 85 days from planting to harvest. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American will consume 15 pounds of watermelon this year.

Barbecue: Cooking for a crowd

It's no secret that Americans love their barbecue, but where did this obsession (and that weird word for it) originate? The term is thought to come from a West Indian word that Caribbean natives used to describe meat they slow-cooked over a fire above a wooden platform. By the 1800s, the tradition of grilling meat for a large crowd was well established in the American South, with pigs as the most popular meat source. The communal charring of pork provided a convenient way for politicians to garner votes and for churches to strengthen their congregations. The ritual was not tied to a particular class, as journalist Jonathan Daniels noted in the mid-20th century. "Barbecue is the dish," he wrote, "which binds together the taste of both the people of the big house and the poorest occupants of the back end of the broken-down barn."

Picnics: Or should we say pique-nique?

Eating outdoors is a central part of many Independence Day celebrations. But it too predates America's founding. Picnics may have started as medieval hunting feasts, but " pique-nique " (the French term from which the English word was derived) does not appear in print until the 1692 edition of the early reference book, "Origines de la Langue Françoise." It was probably formed from the verb " piquer ," (to pick) to describe a social event where everyone brought food to share. The word made it to England by 1800, where it eventually came to describe the kind of outdoor meal we enjoy today.

Fireworks: Shock and awe

No Independence Day celebration would be complete without a fireworks display. But where do they come from? One story has it that a cook in China mixed charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate that he stuffed into sticks of bamboo and tossed into the fire, where the whole thing exploded with a loud bang. The noise was so frightening that observers thought perhaps the popping sticks could be used to ward off evil spirits. They quickly became standard at Chinese weddings and religious rituals. Later reports have Marco Polo bringing the firecrackers back to Italy in 1292, where they spread throughout Europe. Colonizers brought fireworks to the Americas in the 1600s, where they were used for celebrations and to alternately threaten or impress Native Americans. Over time, fireworks got more elaborate, but for almost 1,000 years, only two colors of fireworks were available: orange from black powder and white from metallic powder. Firecrackers were part of the first Fourth of July commemorations in 1777, but it wasn't until the 1830s that Italian scientists discovered that adding metallic salt and chlorinated powder made blue, green, yellow and red explosions.

The flag: Long may it wave

We all know the tale: George Washington and other Continental Congress members went to a young widow, the upholsterer Betsy Ross, in May 1776 and asked her to sew the new nation's flag based on a rough design Washington showed her. According to the story, she was even bold enough to overrule Washington's six-pointed star design. Instead, she demonstrated how to cut a five-pointed one in a single cut, which would make it easier to mass produce. The final product featured 13 stars arranged in a circle along with alternating red and white stripes to represent the original Colonies. But did any of this really happen? There is no written record of Ross' involvement. Her grandson, William Canby, first told her story to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1870, explaining that he had heard it from his grandmother. He eventually backed up his account with affidavits from aged relatives. Historians remain skeptical, due to the anecdotal nature of the record. But most acknowledge that it could have happened.

Apple pie: An all-American tradition?

For a Fourth of July dessert, what could be better than something "as American as apple pie." But how American, really, is the nation's favorite dessert? The first appearance of anything resembling modern pies was in ancient Greece, where people enclosed meat in pastry to preserve it. Romans appropriated the recipe when they conquered the Greeks. The first written evidence of apple pie dates to a 14th century English recipe, but the first pie recipe that included sugar dates to the 16th century. European explorers or English Pilgrims brought apple seeds to the New World, allowing the pie's popularity to spread. As apple production increased in modern America, the treat became a culinary mainstay.

Julia Gabrick is a graduate student at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and an intern at The Times.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gabrick-trivia-20110703,0,2443353,print.story

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Stoned driving is uncharted territory

Experts say they don't know what level of marijuana impairs a driver, but statistics show that fatal crashes involving drugged drivers have jumped. Law enforcement puts much of the blame on the growth of medical marijuana use.

by Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times

July 2, 2011

It was his green tongue that helped give away Jimmy Candido Flores when police arrived at the fatal accident scene near Chico.

Flores had run off the road and killed a jogger, Carrie Jean Holliman, a 56-year-old Chico elementary school teacher. California Highway Patrol officers thought he might be impaired and conducted a sobriety examination. Flores' tongue had a green coat typical of heavy marijuana users and a later test showed he had pot, as well as other drugs, in his blood.

After pleading guilty to manslaughter, Flores, a medical marijuana user, was sentenced in February to 10 years and 8 months in prison.

Holliman's death and others like it across the nation hint at what experts say is an unrecognized crisis: stoned drivers.

The most recent assessment by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, based on random roadside checks, found that 16.3% of all drivers nationwide at night were on various legal and illegal impairing drugs, half them high on marijuana.

In California alone, nearly 1,000 deaths and injuries each year are blamed directly on drugged drivers, according to CHP data, and law enforcement puts much of the blame on the rapid growth of medical marijuana use in the last decade. Fatalities in crashes where drugs were the primary cause and alcohol was not involved jumped 55% over the 10 years ending in 2009.

"Marijuana is a significant and important contributing factor in a growing number of fatal accidents," said Gil Kerlikowske, director of National Drug Control Policy in the White House and former Seattle police chief. "There is no question, not only from the data but from what I have heard in my career as a law enforcement officer."

As the medical marijuana movement has gained speed — one-third of the states now allow such sales — federal officials are pursuing scientific research into the impairing effects of the drug.

The issue is compounded by the lack of a national standard on the amount of the drug that drivers should be allowed to have in their blood. While 13 states have adopted zero-tolerance laws, 35 states including California have no formal standard, and instead rely on the judgment of police to determine impairment.

Even the most cautious approach of zero tolerance is fraught with complex medical issues about whether residual low levels of marijuana can impair a driver days after the drug is smoked. Marijuana advocates say some state and federal officials are trying to make it impossible for individuals to use marijuana and drive legally for days or weeks afterward.

Marijuana is not nearly as well understood as alcohol, which has been the subject of statistical and medical research for decades.

"A lot of effort has gone into the study of drugged driving and marijuana, because that is the most prevalent drug, but we are not nearly to the point where we are with alcohol," said Jeffrey P. Michael, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's impaired-driving director. "We don't know what level of marijuana impairs a driver."

A $6-million study in Virginia Beach, Va., is attempting to remove any doubt that users of pot and other drugs are more likely to crash. Teams of federal researchers go to accident scenes and ask drivers to voluntarily provide samples of their blood. They later return to the same location, at the same time and on the same day of the week, asking two random motorists not involved in crashes for a blood sample.

The project aims to collect 7,500 blood samples to show whether drivers with specific blood levels of drugs are more likely to crash than those without the drugs, said John Lacey, a researcher at the nonprofit Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.

In other projects, test subjects are being given marijuana to smoke and then examined under high-powered scanners or put in advanced driving simulators to gauge how it affects their brains and their ability to drive.

Federal scientists envision a day when police could quickly swab saliva from drivers' mouths and determine whether they have an illegal level of marijuana, but that will require years of research. Until then, police are in the same position they were with drunk driving in the 1950s, basing arrests on their professional judgment of each driver's behavior and vital signs.

If police suspect a driver is stoned, they now administer a lengthy 12-point examination. The driver must walk a straight line and stand on one leg, estimate the passage of 30 seconds and have pupils, blood pressure and pulse checked.

Chuck Hayes, national coordinator for the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police based in Washington, D.C., says the system works well to identify impaired drivers, and any future legal limit or medical test would be just another tool rather than a revolutionary change.

"We are not concerned about levels or limits. We are concerned with impairment," Hayes said.

Indeed, even among law enforcement experts, the need for a standard is debated. Many support tried-and-true policing methods that can ferret out stoned drivers.

"Everybody wants a magic number, because that makes it easy," said Sarah Kerrigan, a toxicologist at Sam Houston State University in Texas and an expert witness in numerous trials. "To have a law that says above a certain level you are impaired is not scientifically supportable. I don't think police need the tool, but my opinion may be in the minority."

But federal officials and local prosecutors argue that the lack of a standard makes convictions harder to obtain.

In October, a San Diego jury acquitted Terry Barraclough, a 60-year-old technical writer and medical marijuana user, on manslaughter charges in a fatal crash that occurred shortly after he had smoked marijuana.

A blood test showed he had high levels of active marijuana ingredients in his blood, but the jury heard conflicting expert testimony from toxicologists about the possible effects.

Martin Doyle, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted Barraclough, said the acquittal showed that the lack of a formal legal limit on marijuana intoxication makes such prosecutions tough.

"We don't have a limit in California and that made my prosecution very difficult," Doyle said. "We have a lapse in the law."

But defense attorney Michael Cindrich said the failed prosecution shows that the San Diego district attorney was targeting medical marijuana users and that any legal limit would be unfair to the people who rely on the drug to treat their problems.

Indeed, Anthony Cardoza, an attorney who represented Flores in the Chico accident, said his client was not impaired and that allegations about his green tongue were ridiculous. Flores' guilty plea was prompted by other legal issues, including a prior conviction for a drunk driving accident that caused an injury.

Marilyn Huestis, a toxicologist and one of the nation's top experts on marijuana at the National Institute on Drug Abuse who is directing several research programs, said she believed there is no amount of marijuana that a person can consume and drive safely immediately afterward.

Supporters of marijuana legalization agree that the drug can impair a driver, but argue that the effects wear off in a few hours. Huestis, however, said research was showing that the effects of marijuana can linger.

Marijuana's main ingredient — delta-9 THC — stays in the blood for an hour or more and then breaks down into metabolites that are both psychoactive and inert. But the impairing effects can linger, even after the THC is no longer in the blood, Huestis said. Because it can be absorbed into body tissue and slowly released for days, Huestis believes that heavy chronic daily users may be impaired in ways that are not yet understood.

A complicating factor is the tendency of many marijuana users to also use alcohol, which can sharply amplify impairment. Very little research has been conducted to determine whether it is possible to set limits on a combination of such substances.

Paul Armentano, deputy director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said some states had laws that can punish users even when they are not high, pointing to a tough Arizona statute that allows conviction for impaired driving when an inert metabolite is detected in the blood.

Arizona officials said they wrote the law because there was no scientific agreement on how long marijuana impairs a driver. But proponents see something more sinister: an effort to put marijuana users in constant legal jeopardy.

"We are not setting a standard based on impairment, but one similar to saying that if you have one sip of alcohol you are too drunk to drive for the next week," Armentano said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pot-drivers-20110703,0,2633169,print.story

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From Google News

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Ohio

City implements community policing

by Jeremy Nobile | Reporter

Tallmadge -- The Tallmadge Police Department is launching a new policing initiative in the city: neighborhood police officers, each responsible for specific parts of the city.

"The city will be divided into districts [with] officers assigned to them, which include both residents and businesses," said Police Chief Don Zesiger. "The purpose of this initiative is to strengthen the relationship between the police department and the community and to be responsive to their needs."

Nine of the department's 23 full-time officers are assigned to the city's seven neighborhood districts, which are loosely oriented around Tallmadge's four wards.

Sgt. Scott Christopher, who defined the city's neighborhood districts, is spearheading the community-policing initiative.

"The goal is for officers to spend more time in the neighborhoods getting to know the people they're serving and finding better solutions to issues we're running into in the community," said Christopher.

Residents may have already been introduced to their neighborhood officers -- who have all volunteered to participate in the program -- as they've been instructed to begin meeting members of their neighborhoods.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Linda Poinar said she met her neighborhood officer June 22.

"He told me he doesn't work every day, so if I need to contact him, I can email him or call; he was very gracious," she said, praising the police department for launching the program. "We talked about my neighborhood, and some other issues. We had a great conversation."

Officers will also work in conjunction with Council members as a function of the initiative.

"The officer will make contact with business owners, residents, and their Council persons to identify problems and devise ways to solve them," said Zesiger.

If a Council member hears complaints about speeding on a certain street, for example, they can contact their neighborhood officer for that area. It then becomes that officer's responsibility to make sure the issue is handled.

Citizens, however, are encouraged to contact their neighborhood officers themselves with issues or concerns.

"These neighborhoods are basically their responsibility," said Christopher. "It's their piece of the world, and they have ownership of that."

The seven community-policing districts are complicated to define, but the list of neighborhood officers is on the right.

Some districts have more than one neighborhood officer depending on their location and the volume of residents and businesses within them. Every ward has at least two neighborhood districts inside it -- Ward 3 has four of them.

The neighborhood officers will log their activity and write quarterly reports about the status of issues in their district in addition to archiving some info about the people they meet.

Christopher said the purpose is simply to keep track of who the officers have met and what problems are being addressed.

For instance, if an officer knows a resident walks his dog on Bentley Place Boulevard every day at 6 a.m., and a break-in was reported in that area in the morning, the officer could contact that resident and ask him if he saw anything suspicious.

Zesiger said citizens tend to be the catalysts that help solve crimes. In a cases like this, a civilian's assistance is invaluable to an investigation.

"In spite of the advancements in fancy technology," said Zesiger, "we solve most crimes as a result of citizens giving us information about something they observed that did not look right to them. The residents are the eyes and ears of the police department and they are the experts in their neighborhood when something is not right. We want to continue to strengthen and nurture this relationship."

Email: jnobile@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 , ext. 3111

NEIGHBORHOOD OFFICERS

The nine neighborhood officers are listed below according to which ward(s) their district falls in. If you want to verify who your neighborhood officer is, contact your ward councilperson or Sgt. Scott Christopher at schristopher@tallmadge-ohio.org. You can reach the police department at 330-633-2181 , or leave a message for City Council members at 330-633-0856 .

* Ward 1 (Councilperson Linda Poinar) includes: Officers Mike Dornack and Mike Scholles (District 1) and Officer Mark Pozuc (District 3)

* Ward 2 (Councilperson Gene Stalnaker) includes: Officer Mark Pozuc (District 3), Officer Max Snyder (District 6) and Officer Patrick Fairhurst (District 7)

* Ward 3 (Councilperson James Donovan) includes: Officer Stephanie Jerin (District 4), Officer Nate Ickes (District 5), Officer Max Snyder (District 6) and Officer Patrick Fairhurst (District 7)

* Ward 4 (Councilperson John Rensel) includes: Officers Mark Wilson and Bernie Cirullo (District 2) and Officer Stephanie Jerin (District 4)

http://www.tallmadgeexpress.com/news/printer_friendly/5059428

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Community policing concept a first for Tallmadge

by Jeremy Nobile

Tallmadge -- The community-policing initiative is not an entirely new concept, said Tallmadge Police Sgt. Scott Christopher, although he says the Tallmadge program could be the first of its kind in Summit County.

Christopher, 44, said his idea for the community policing initiative came from his service as an officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina.

He said that department had a neighborhood policing program because of the vast area it covered -- the department had nearly 2,000 officers when he worked there roughly 15 years ago.

Such initiatives are more prevalent in larger cities, Christopher explained, because of the larger police staffs and jurisdictions.

He said he has often entertained the idea of initiating a similar program in Tallmadge ever since leaving North Carolina.

Now in a position of leadership as a sergeant, Christopher seized the opportunity to bring his ideas to fruition.

He said he was nervous about first suggesting the idea to his officers, though.

"But not a single guy gave me any flak," he said, noting everyone has been receptive of the idea.

Christopher hopes there will be a similar response from the community.

"Until people begin to see what's going, I think there will be some apprehension whether it's from citizens or from officers who aren't used to contacting people," he said.

Christopher said police can become anxious when talking to citizens the same way people can be anxious of talking to police. The goal is to eliminate that anxiety to create a useful rapport between the police and the people -- a notion Police Chief Don Zesiger supports.

"The community benefits in that they realize the police department is interested in their quality of life," explained Zesiger, "and the police department benefits by having an ongoing dialogue with the residents and making people more comfortable with what we do."

Christopher lauded the officers for being receptive to the initiative, particularly because it means more work with no increase in pay. Neighborhood officers will be filing more reports and making themselves accessible to citizens in addition to their regular duties.

Following the department's goal of increasing the visibility of officers and promoting positive relationships with police to address community issues, Christopher noted how the TPD expects to utilize more bike patrols this year.

If you see a bike officer in your neighborhood, Christopher said it's likely that person is your neighborhood officer.

"We want to meet the people in the community," said Christopher, "so if you see a guy on a bike, feel free to stop him and say hi."

http://www.tallmadgeexpress.com/news/article/5059444

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Wisconsin

Green Bay neighborhood policing draws mixed reviews

GREEN BAY — Green Bay police officer Mike Wanta doesn't get many visits from his new neighbors, so he has taken it upon himself to get to know them.

"Not just anyone walks up to the front door and talks to the police in this neighborhood," said Wanta, one of two officers assigned to the city's third policing center, the Olde North Community Policing Center, located at Harvey Street and N. Irwin Avenue.

"We try and cover almost every call that happens in the neighborhood so that we become familiar with names, faces and places to monitor if they become problems."

Plans for the Olde North Community Policing Center originally were announced in 2009 but the opening stalled due to funding and construction issues.

The center began operating in February and is designed to increase police visibility and build stronger relationships with residents.

The converted white, two-story residence also houses two probation and parole agents from the state Department of Corrections. Besides a large sign and paved parking lot, it doesn't stand out much from surrounding homes.

The city has two other policing centers at Joannes Park and on Shawano Avenue. A fourth center is expected to open this summer in the Imperial Lane neighborhood.

Break-ins and burglary attempts have occurred at the Joannes and Shawano policing centers.

Despite those incidents, Wanta said the centers are valuable because they help police fill in gaps and track problems. For example, if police receive many calls for service at a certain address, Wanta will contact the landlord to alert him or her of the issue.

Wanta, a 22-year veteran, said he covered the Olde North area on the city's northeast side for nearly five years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He said the major issue facing the neighborhood is ownership.

"There's a large amount of renters in this neighborhood," he said of common complaints of loud music or grilling smoke. "An owner takes better care of their things than a renter."

The city paid $102,300 for the Olde North Community Policing Center, including upgrades. Federal stimulus money for community development and a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development financed the project. Area companies also donated items, such as furniture.

Roy Garcia, 61, said he lives in the neighborhood and doesn't believe the center will lower crime. He also says it's a waste of money.

"They should have put that house to use for something else, like for people who can't afford their rent," said Garcia, an unemployed recycling worker.

Garcia said there were enough officers patrolling the neighborhood before the center opened.

Lt. Bill Bongle said the center allows officers quick access to records and data instead of running back and forth to the police station downtown to submit reports.

"This has allowed them to locate in a neighborhood closer to where they deliver service," he said.

Wanta and officer Kevin Kempf do not have strict office hours. Bongle said the public did not use office hours when they were available at the Joannes Policing Center, 315. S. Baird St.

Bongle prefers to have officers on the road, with the center serving as a home base.

Some neighborhood residents said they didn't know much about the center but felt safer knowing police were near. Bongle said an open house is planned once a new sign is installed and additional landscaping is completed.

Tom Wickeham supervises probation and parole agents for the state Department of Corrections at the center. Two agents work downstairs in the center while police offices are upstairs. Wickeham said the setup allows agents and police to share information. Officers also accompany agents when they make home visits, he added.

Wickeham estimated 75 percent of each agent's roughly 80 clients live in the Olde North area.

The agents previously worked at the state office downtown, but being closer makes it more convenient for clients, he said.

"It's beneficial because some of these individuals don't have transportation."

Other agents have similar arrangements with De Pere and Oneida police, Wickeham said.

The center is located around the corner from the 1300 block of Day Street where James Office, 46, was beaten, then put in the trunk of a car and driven away on Aug. 25, 2010. Office survived, but was hospitalized with several injuries.

Joyce Reed, 26, of Green Bay was sentenced in April to 12 years in prison for her involvement in that incident.

Three men — Peter Hawpetoss, 27; Kevin Kaquatosh, 28, and Rodney Reed, 42 — have also been charged in the case, and court action against them is pending.

Wanta said he doesn't believe that crime would have been prevented if the center were open during that time.

Some residents may not feel comfortable walking into the center due to fears of retaliation, so it's important for officers to reach out to residents, Wanta said.

"We are expected to be more in tune to what is going on specifically in this area," he said.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20110703/APC0101/107030532/Green-Bay-neighborhood-policing-draws-mixed-reviews

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Wisconsin

With Jacato Drive COP house, Racine police take a different approach

by ALICIA ABERCROMBIE

July 2, 2011

RACINE - Amid the clutter of apartment buildings and cracked pavement, a squat three-bedroom house sits quietly at 2437 Jacato Drive, filled with office furniture and the occasional static of a police radio.

Only the wooden sign in the front yard proclaiming the building as a Community Oriented Policing house marks the building from its surroundings.

Racine's newest COP house, the seventh of its kind in the city, poses a unique challenge for officers Walter Powell and Neil Lofy, the beat cops for Jacato Drive. Previous COP houses have opened with fanfare and purpose, their residing officers knocking on doors to introduce themselves to the neighborhood and working with homeowners for aid in crime prevention.

Instead, Powell and Lofy have spent the last six weeks on Jacato Drive slipping in and out of the house, working the streets in car and by foot and trying to establish what they term a "baseline" for how to deal with a neighborhood unlike any they've been in before.

"The main difference between Jacato and other neighborhoods is that here, the owners, those with financial investment, don't live here themselves," Powell said. "Instead of working with homeowners that have been here 30 years and have ridden the ups and downs and want things to get better, we're working with building managers and property owners who may not even know who lives in the building."

The Police Department has wanted to start a COP house on Jacato Drive for years, and bought the house last fall from Tri City Bank, Powell said. Funding for the $40,000 residence was provided by Tri City, which donated $15,000, and a grant from the Racine Community Fund covered the other $25,000. Modine Manufacturing Co. donated office furniture and other furnishings as well.

Jacato has long been a problem neighborhood, Powell said, plagued with high crime rates and a building density that packs 247 units into a two-block radius. Instead of jumping right into the fray, police have been forced to work slowly. Many of the buildings are in foreclosure and have been turned over to property management companies, and some companies have no idea if the tenants they rent to have leases or even who they are, he said.

This has not only made the officers' work more difficult, but has made them police the community differently than they have in other COP house areas. Instead of letting neighborhood kids off with warnings and separating troublemakers after fights, they've adopted a "zero tolerance" policy.

"Instead of warnings, we do tickets and arrests," Powell said. "One of the advantages of not coming in with a big splash has been that since no one is sure if we're here, we can park a car around the corner and spot out of the office to catch bigger problems. Some of the officers down on the south side have said guys tell them it's too hot now on Jacato and they've had to move on."

This low-key strategy has not been without its critics. Some residents, like Keshia Barnes of 2700 Jacato Drive, have said they're not sure if there's ever anyone there at all.

"We never see them at all, we're never sure if they're there," Barnes said. "What's the point in having a police house if no one does anything there?"

Powell says that while he understands resident concerns, being invisible has helped the officers learn about community needs in ways they couldn't before.

Now, after six weeks in the building, which the officers began using in late May, Powell and Lofy finally feel they understand enough of the community to start the next step in turning the neighborhood around.

"We're going to work with Neighborhood Watch starting in July, get some meetings going here in the house," Powell said. "We want to work with building managers to get them to pass out information to the tenants."

The officers plan on doing what will be essentially a giant publicity effort in conjunction with building managers. The flyers will include the officer's contact information and a guide on how to call the police and what constitutes an emergency.

The officers hope the information and visible police presence will encourage the tenants to help them in policing the community.

"Most of the issues here are quality-of-life issues," Lofy said. "Things like loud stereos and parties in the parking lots. We need to change the entire culture here, that way of thinking that anything goes on Jacato."

The officers know that they have a long way to go before changing the culture itself, but they feel they're ready to tackle the task.

"This house, this office, is a symbol of our long-term commitment to the neighborhood," Powell said.

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/article_f66aa98a-a529-11e0-a142-001cc4c03286.html

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Cleveland crime statistics show little change in 6 months, but big drop from 2006

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland crime statistics showed no big changes during the first half of 2011 compared with the same period last year, but that's not all bad, given that crime levels plummeted between 2006 and 2010.

Violent crime fell 21 percent over those four years while property crime decreased 15 percent.

Some of the drop can be attributed to Cleveland's population slide. But officials say smarter policing, including the increased use of modern crime-fighting tools like computer analysis, and a vigorous partnership with social service agencies and the community have made a difference.

Analysis grows in importance

Sgt. Justin McGinty of the department's Crime Analysis Unit said Chief Michael McGrath has emphasized intelligence-led policing since becoming the department's top cop in 2005. It wasn't long ago that some officers were unaware the department even had a Crime Analysis Unit, McGinty said.

"It's something that has come from the top down," McGinty said. "More people departmentwide, from commanders down to patrol, are asking for information from us."

McGrath said in an interview that the drop in crime has occurred during a period when the department has dropped by 500 officers. Detailed crime analysis has allowed the department to work smarter by deploying officers where the need is greatest, McGrath said.

But he also credited the partnership his department has forged with social-service agencies, noting that the department can't solve all the city's crime problems by arresting people. The relationship with residents is just as vital, he said.

"We will only be as good as people in the community allow us to be," McGrath said. "If they're not an equal partner, our job is more difficult."

Data allows better use of officers

Commanders in Cleveland's five police districts receive reports weekly from the Crime Analysis Unit that contain detailed breakdowns on when and where crimes are occurring. The reports allow district commanders to marshal resources and saturate "hot spots" with officers, police officials say.

In the 5th District, which encompasses much of Cleveland's northeast side, Commander Wayne Drummond uses a two-officer car during evening and night shifts to concentrate on areas where crime has spiked.

Those officers, along with colleagues assigned to the district's Community Services Unit, concentrate on quality-of-life issues such as littering, traffic violations, loud music and open containers in problem areas, Drummond said.

"Those small things lead to the bigger things," Drummond said. "You let individuals know that we won't tolerate those things."

The attack on quality-of-life issues is a key tenet to the community policing philosophy that has been embraced by U.S. law enforcement agencies for the better part of two decades and has been credited for dramatic drops in overall crime rates in many cities.

District commanders have also begun paying more attention to burglaries. In the 5th District, five detectives are assigned to a team that follows up on all burglary reports and patrols the streets during the day, when most breaking-and-entering crimes occur, looking for suspicious activity.

Burglary gets more attention

The department's Scientific Investigation Unit now processes all burglary crime scenes for fingerprints and DNA evidence, something that didn't necessarily happen in the past.

Burglaries may not be violent crimes, but they can dramatically affect a resident's sense of well-being, Drummond said. He speaks from first-hand experience. His own home was broken into four years ago.

"It still bothers me," Drummond said. "The safety of my family was absolutely violated. My kids for the longest time didn't want to be in the house. I take these things personally because I can relate to what people are talking about."

Yet Drummond recognizes that police can do only so much when it comes to reducing crime. Ultimately, he said, it takes residents who are willing to band together and take ownership of their neighborhoods.

Drummond said that means residents must be willing to call police to tell them what is happening.

"It's a partnership, and they need to feel comfortable doing that and to trust us," Drummond said. "It's part of bridging that gap in the community."

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro//print.html

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Connecticut

Community cop comeback

Waterbury police get funds for neighborhood officers

by MIKE PATRICK

WATERBURY — The police cruiser slowed down and pulled over where a gray-haired man stood beside his home. Officer Timothy Bachand got out and the two exchanged greetings, jokes, even insults.

With all the smiles and handshakes, it was obvious Bachand and the man complaining of prostitutes and drug dealers in the neighborhood knew each other well.

Bachand is one of the city's community police officers, those whose duty is to not just patrol the neighborhoods, but create a special bond with residents that earns their trust and ultimately improves their quality of life.

"To me, community policing is building these relationships with the community: the residents, the property owners and the businesses," Bachand said. "You want to establish that rapport with the people. Then, whether they like you or dislike you, they still want to talk to you."

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2011/07/03/news/local/568625.txt

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